Connecticut officials want better oversight of Amistad

Associated Press

Hartford (AP) — Connecticut's top economic development official is asking Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and the legislature for more authority to oversee the finances and operations of the state's official flagship, the Amistad schooner.

Catherine Smith, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development, said in a report released Tuesday that the agency has little authority under state law.

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's chief of staff, Mark Ojakian, asked Smith for a report about what is being done to improve the Amistad's accountability.

The schooner's nonprofit owner, Amistad America, has faced questions about its business partnerships and how it has spent nearly $9 million in state funding. Officials say there's no evidence of any impropriety.

North Stonington state Rep. Diana Urban says she wants a new board of directors installed at Amistad America.